Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson posted a list of 10 teams which he believes should “buy” or “sell” at the trade deadline, and Richardson suggests that Detroit should “buy”:
Buyer: Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are enduring their longest playoff drought in franchise history. They’re battling to remain in contention for a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference but need to bolster their roster to avoid extending that drought to nine years.
Adding a reliable second-line center could be their most pressing issue. Andrew Copp currently fills that role but the versatile two-way forward would be better employed in a checking-line role.
During the Jan. 10 edition of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman reported the Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres scouted each other before the December holiday break. He said it got out that the Wings were scouting Cozens, with two sources claiming a deal may have been close at one point.
It remains to be seen if Cozens is available, but Friedman’s report suggests Wings GM Steve Yzerman is taking his need for an upgrade at center seriously, preferably one in his twenties with term left on his contract.
Continued; I’ve not bought into the Cozens rumors as of yet, mostly because the Sabres would want quite the haul for a player who’s had one good season…
But I don’t believe that Detroit’s going to “sell” at the trade deadline, regardless of whether they’re still in the playoff chase or not.
